Ways to make an impact:
Build Bridges

Improve relationships to strengthen our city

Building Bridges in Atlanta is crucial for uniting diverse communities and addressing social challenges through collaboration and understanding. Sometimes organizations are operating independently with the same mission. Other times connecting organizations from different sectors is the solution, but the leaders may never encounter each other due to the professional community where they operate. A collaborative approach to addressing complex social issues by uniting organizations is a critical part of the Atlanta Way 2.0 mission to strengthen the civic fabric of Atlanta.  By fostering dialogue and creating partnerships across cultural, economic, and social divides, Atlanta can harness its collective strengths to drive meaningful change.

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So how do you build these bridges?​ One example comes from our Founder Maria Saporta. Maria is a huge proponent of historic preservation in Atlanta. Over the years she has interviewed and convened individuals and groups to save properties such as The Fox Theatre and continues to work to preserve key historic properties along the MLK Jr Historic Corridor. While working on these passion projects, Maria found that two of the most critical preservation organizations were not working together. Baffled she dug into the history and discovered a more than 40-year divide due to previous leadership not seeing eye to eye. With new leadership in place Maria saw an opportunity to build a bridge and connect these organizations. Mark McDonald and David Mitchell sat down for lunch with Maria one afternoon and in the end, they agreed that it was best for everyone if their organizations could bury the hatchet and move forward together. Since that lunch, the GA Trust for Historic Preservation and the Atlanta Preservation Center have been working closely together. When Mark McDonald retired last year, new leader Wright Mitchell carried the baton to keep the preservation efforts going in our city! 

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Another example of building bridges is the incredible leadership of Lauren Koontz, President & CEO at YMCA Of Metro Atlanta, and Danita Knight, President & CEO at YWCA of Greater Atlanta. These women saw an opportunity to come together and to unite two organizations in our region whose strategic alliance will advance multiple causes including advocacy to support individuals and families in our city. This collaboration seems obvious, but this is the first time in their history the two organizations have worked together. 

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One final example of how simple it can be to build bridges:  Maria Saporta was at Atlanta Rotary one Monday afternoon and realized she was sitting between the leaders of the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Metro Atlanta Chamber. They had never been introduced! Maria made the introduction and soon they were comparing notes on their similar history and interests outside of their leadership positions. This connection was pivotal in the creation of several other connections within the organizations and the collaboration from that point forward improved. 

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Want to learn more about how to build bridges? Atlanta 2.0 provides training and resources to help individuals and organizations bridge the divide and create a more connected, thriving city. RSVP for one of our upcoming events! Do you have a great example of building bridges you want to share? Email britton@Atlantaway.org!